Books And Aconite: The Adventures Of A Potions Apprentice by JAWorley
FeatureSummary: Uncle Vernon’s acting weird, and Snape has designs on making Harry the most obedient student Hogwarts has ever seen. Harry just wants a quiet summer to himself and to earn the money he needs for his school supplies, but he could only hope for something so simple. Entry into the Bingo Card Fic Fest.
Categories: Healer Snape, Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Master Snape > Apprentice Harry, Fic Fests > Bingo! Fic Fest, Teacher Snape > Professor Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Hermione, Original Character, Other, Ron
Snape Flavour: Snape is Angry, Canon Snape, Snape Comforts, Snape is Controlling, Snape is Kind, Snape is Stern
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon, Drama, Fantasy, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Hospitalization, Injured!Snape, Runaway, Snape-meets-Dursleys, Werewolf!Harry, Werewolves
Takes Place: 5th summer, 5th Year
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Bullying, Emotional Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse, Physical Punishment Non-Spanking, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 25 Completed: No Word count: 176255 Read: 71139 Published: 05 Nov 2022 Updated: 29 Dec 2022
A Far Better Read by JAWorley
Author's Notes:
In the UK Paracetamol = Tylenol in the US
Vernon wasn't pleased to see Harry back so soon. The first time Snape had taken Harry it had been for seven days. The second time it had only been for three.

"How's he supposed to teach you what you need to know in only three days?" Vernon gruffed.

"We traveled Scotland gathering and learning about ingredients and selling them to the apothecary. I had to memorize a lot of things, and I had to learn to sell what we were harvesting."

Vernon only grunted in response, and over the next couple days seemed agitated that Harry was there at all. Harry didn't get to go to the library because his uncle had assigned Harry every chore known to man to ensure he was kept busy and ‘out of aunt Petunia's hair'. Aunt Petunia didn't seem to mind Harry being back, and ignored him like she usually did.

Harry spent three days mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, washing the car, organizing the shed, organizing the attic, dusting the house, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing down the bricks on the outside of the house, cleaning the fireplace, cleaning the gutters, washing windows, and scrubbing toilets. There were more things on the list that Harry didn't have time to get to, and each day his uncle gruffed at him that he was being lazy and slow and that he was expected to get through all of his chores. That was difficult when each day his uncle added more chores to the neverending list however.

By the end of the third day, his uncle had worked himself up so much about Harry's ‘laziness' that he slammed Harry into the side of the house. Harry's arm hit the bricks with such force as he was slammed sideways into the house that he felt the bone crack. His uncle didn't hit him, or pull him back to slam him sideways into the bricks again. He shouted at Harry to finish all his chores and stalked off into the house to watch the telly, leaving Harry there breathing hard and reeling from the pain. He'd broken bones before, but it had been a long time. The last time had been during a Quidditch match at Hogwarts, and Madam Pomfrey had been able to heal the bone in minutes. He had no access to the Hogwarts infirmary now though, and he doubted his aunt and uncle would take him to the hospital to get it x-rayed and into a cast. He also didn't know when Snape was coming back to get him, as the man hadn't said, though he had already made up his mind not to tell the man about it. He would only accuse Harry of fighting and causing trouble, or worse yet, side with Harry's uncle about him being lazy and say he deserved what he got.

Harry waited a few minutes and made his way into the house, cradling his arm to his body. It was getting dark out and he wouldn't be able to do chores outside for much longer anyway. He found his aunt in the kitchen, and decided to ask for some Paracetamol. While she liked to ignore Harry and pretend he didn't exist, she always warned him if his uncle was in a bad mood and often told him to stay on his good side, chastizing him if he raised his ire. While she didn't love Harry, he hoped it meant she didn't like seeing him get hurt.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked quietly. She turned from the dishes she was doing in the sink and looked at the grimace of pain on his face.

"What have you done now boy?"


"Could I have some Paracetamol?"

Her eyes drifted down to how he was cradling his arm. A moment later she went to a cupboard without a word and pulled out the bottle of pain killers and put two of them on the counter. She filled a glass of water and set it on the counter for Harry. It was one of the few kindnesses she had ever done for him.

After Harry took the two pills she chastised him quietly with, "I warned you not to make him angry."

"I'm not sure there was anything I could do to avoid it."

She was quiet for a moment. "See if you can stay with Snape longer next time."


"I don't have a choice."

She didn't say anything else, and turned back to what she had been doing before Harry came into the kitchen.

Harry went to bed hungry that night, because he'd been busy doing work outside during dinner, and his arm throbbed as he lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling. Snape got mad at Harry even more often than his uncle did. He hadn't thrown Harry into a wall or hit him yet, but Harry was certain that was coming eventually. His last two trips to stay with Snape hadn't been fun but they hadn't been downright miserable either. Snape was constantly on him about something and always had the wrong idea about him. Just like at home with his relatives Harry felt like he had to walk on eggshells to avoid getting in trouble. He sighed. Going to stay with Snape longer wouldn't be any better than being there in Little Whinging, even if that was what his aunt and uncle wanted.

* * *

Harry's arm throbbed constantly the next day. His uncle was at work and his aunt set him to light chores that he only needed one hand to complete. He dusted the mantle and picture frames with his left hand, washed the kitchen window inside and outside, and cleaned the outside of all the kitchen cabinets. Vernon seemed to be satisfied with the punishment he'd dealt to Harry the night before, because he didn't say anything to him at all about not completing his uncle's list of chores that day. That evening Harry received an owl that Snape would be there in the morning to take him for several more days, and to be ready by eight. Harry barely slept, arm hurting, and wondering how he was going to hide it from Snape.

The next morning Harry rose early at six and pulled on an old hoodie that had small holes around the hem and didn't fit well anymore. It was getting thin from overuse so he hoped it wouldn't be too hot to wear since it was still summer. His plan was to wear it the entire time he was with Snape. The long sleeves would cover up the huge bruise on his broken right arm, and he could put his hand in the large front pocket of the hoodie and try to use it like a sling, poor as it was, to keep his arm still.

Harry didn't know how he was going to get his trunk downstairs with just one arm. Snape was due to arrive in a few minutes and Harry was certain he'd be yelled at for not having his trunk ready to go by the front door. Against his better judgment, he went to the room next door and knocked. Dudley opened the door and looked surprised to see his cousin there. While Dudley's behavior had changed for the better that summer towards Harry, Harry had been kept so busy with chores lately that he had barely seen his cousin, who was often out of the house with his friends.

"Erm- I can't get my trunk downstairs by myself right now."

Dudley's eyes traveled to his cousin's arm and how he had his hand tucked into the front pocket of the hoodie to keep it still. He didn't know if Dudley knew he'd broken it. "Yeah, ok," he said. "Too bad you can't use your wand outside of school."

He came into the hallway and then into Harry's room next door to lift one end of the trunk. "I can when I'm with Snape."

"What's the spell to lift this up?"

"There's one to levitate it," Harry said, using his good hand to lift the other end as they took it into the hallway, "or there's one to shrink it down to fit in my pocket, or one to make it light enough to carry with one hand."

"Cool."

"I think there's one to just send it away to wherever I want it to go too, but I don't know that one yet."

They quieted as they reached the bottom of the stairs, both boys knowing they'd be scolded for talking about magic if Petunia heard, though Vernon didn't seem to mind much anymore. Harry suspected he was still trying to pick up tidbits of knowledge so he'd have new things to talk about with his boss.

They set the trunk down by the front door, and almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang and Dudley went to open it, once again eager to see Harry and Snape apparate away.

Snape didn't ask if Harry had all of his things this time. He merely noted that Harry had his trunk. Harry used his good hand to pick up the trunk and grimaced as Snape took his injured arm in hand, and apparated them to the flat above Camden Alley. Harry sucked in a deep breath as soon as they arrived, dismayed at the pain flaring through his arm.

"Put your trunk in your room. We have brewing to do today."

Harry was glad to have use of his wand, though he found it awkward using his left hand, and it took him a couple tries to get the movement down to cast the levitation charm. In his room, he found a stack of muggle lined notebooks on his desk, along with two packages of muggle pens, and a pack of pencils. It looked like enough to get him through the school year. There was also a box with rolls of parchment on the floor. Snape appeared in his doorway a moment later.

"That should be enough to get you through the school year. If you run out during the year, you are to tell me so I can get the supplies you need."

Harry turned to him, mood feeling lighter than it had in days because he was relieved to have what he needed for school. "Thank you sir."

"What else do you require for school aside from clothing?"

"A backpack." Snape gave a single nod and left the room. Harry followed him a moment later after he'd dug his dragonhide gloves out of his trunk, and found Snape in the kitchen, setting up a small cauldron on the counter.

"You are not to brew without my supervision until I tell you otherwise," Snape said. He eyed Harry's very used dragonhide gloves and held out his hands for them. When Harry handed them over he was dismayed to see the man toss them in the rubbish bin. He let his mouth hang open for a moment, but Snape pulled open a kitchen drawer that had miscellaneous brewing items and handed Harry a brand new pair of black dragonhide gloves. His old ones had been student grade and had been brown. Usually students got new ones every couple of years, but Harry's were four years old. These black ones were thicker and much nicer.

"Apprentice grade gloves," Snape said. "These are yours. You will keep them with your brewing items and take them to school. Do not brew without these."

"Thank you," Harry said, feeling stunned. Despite the pain in his arm, and the misery he felt at not knowing when and how his arm was going to get healed, he felt a light flutter of happiness come over him momentarily at getting nice new gloves, just as he had minutes before at seeing the new school supplies.

He was careful to pull a glove over his right hand, and struggled to get the other onto his left hand without causing his right arm too much pain. Once they were on though he marveled at how light they felt. His old dragonhide gloves were heavy despite being thin. These were thick, and would protect his hands much better, but felt light weight, almost like he wasn't wearing gloves at all. They were soft inside and didn't make his hands hot to wear like his old ones had.

Snape had a first year potions book out and was flipping through the pages. He also had a piece of parchment with a list of twenty or more potions listed in his loopy cursive. "You will be re-brewing every potion you have ever failed in class until I am satisfied you can brew it on your own."

Harry raised his brows, surprised. He generally wasn't all that bad at potions. Some potions he had failed because Draco had thrown random ingredients into his cauldron, and others he'd failed because of things out of his control, like hearing a basilisk in the walls during Potions class. He'd only failed a few the previous year because he just hadn't understood the material.

"Why do you look surprised?" Snape said.

"I- I'm not sir. I'm ready."

"Bruise balm is the first on the list. It takes twenty minutes to brew. If you do it incorrectly you will be doing it again until you have it right."

Harry looked over the list of ingredients in the first year text book and the instructions as Snape began pulling out potions supplies from a cupboard Harry hadn't seen into yet. This was an easy first year potion and Harry thought back trying to remember why he'd gotten a poor grade on this, but so many years had passed he couldn't think of a reason. This potion didn't even require him to chop anything up. He just had to measure five ingredients, add them into the cauldron at the right time, and make sure he stirred the correct amount of times clockwise and counter clockwise. At the end of the twenty minutes, he had a thick white balm ready to scoop into a container for use.

"This is acceptable," Snape said. He didn't seem pleased, but he didn't seem angry either. He pulled out a second small cauldron from the cupboard under the kitchen sink and set it on the other end of the counter, and instructed Harry to move to the second potion on the list (giggle juice). While Harry set to work carefully chopping up dandelion stalks, hoping if he moved slowly he wouldn't agitate his broken arm, Snape filled five tins with the bruise balm Harry had made and set to cleansing the cauldron so it could be used on the next potion.

By that evening Harry had completed the five first year potions he'd gotten poor grades on. Snape never praised him, only said, ‘this is acceptable' each time Harry finished a potion, and told him to move on to the next.

The man ordered takeout for dinner, and after the counter was cleaned of potions ingredients and fully cleansed with multiple cleaning agents and spells, they ate silently next to each other on the two stools. It was the first time they'd eaten together, and they spent the ten minutes in silence. Snape told him to go to his room and study for the evening, though he didn't tell Harry what to study.

Harry propped himself up on his bed against the wall, and put his pillow next to him to rest his arm on. It hurt from being held down at his side all day, hand tucked into his hoodie pocket. Harry was happy to have the hoodie off of him so he could cool off. His door was closed all the way and because it was the evening he felt sure Snape wouldn't call him out again until the morning, so there was no need to hide the mottled black and blue bruising on his arm.

Tired of potions, Harry decided not to study his new potions textbook, and instead opened up his Defense text again. He was seven chapters into it now. With no library books to keep him occupied this time, he thought he had a good chance of making it all the way through the Defense text by the end of the summer.

* * *

Harry sped through the second and third year potions he needed to re-brew on the second day, though his arm hurt a lot from all the ingredients he'd had to chop. He'd found a good way to hold the knife so it didn't hurt his arm, but it meant holding his arm at an awkward angle and that did hurt after a while.

On his third day Harry struggled with the five fourth year potions he had to re-brew, because these were the ones he didn't understand. After failing the first potion three times, and failing to answer Snape's questions satisfactorily about why he kept messing it up, the man had sighed and ended up re-teaching Harry the entire lesson from fourth year about the importance of getting the correct ratio of kinsap oil to wormwood powder. "It will always be a four to three ratio no matter what potion you brew. Any potion with kinsap oil and wormwood powder will have four parts kinsap to three parts wormwood powder. You can put any amount over the minimum for that potion of kinsap, as long as you match it with three parts as much wormwood powder."

It was a trying day for both of them, but Harry made it through all five potions, even though it meant he didn't finish until eight that evening. They ate a late dinner and Harry skipped studying defense that evening to go straight to bed. He wanted to forget the jolts of pain that kept getting sent up his arm whenever he moved it the wrong way and just go to sleep, even though it was only nine.

The next morning Harry woke before Snape knocked on his door. It was seven, and Harry was tired. His arm kept waking him up throughout the night every time he shifted in bed the wrong way in his sleep. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat in bed for a few minutes, wondering what he'd be brewing that day. They'd made it through all of his past failed potions. Did that mean they were moving on to new potions, or did it mean Snape was taking him back to his relatives? His uncle would be upset with him for coming back so soon again.

At eight Snape knocked on Harry's door and it swung open, because Harry had already pulled it open an inch when he'd woken earlier. He already had his hoodie on, though he hadn't brushed his hair yet.

Snape eyed him carefully. "How late did you stay up last night?"

"I went to bed at nine."

"Doubtful. You look as though you stayed up until the sun rose." His eyes swept over Harry's messy hair, the dark circles under his eyes, and the vacant look on his face.

"I didn't sir. I'm ready for whatever we're brewing today."

Harry stood up but Snape just stared at him for a few more seconds, then said, "No. If you blow up the block of flats because you're too tired to differentiate one ingredient from another it will reflect poorly on me. The apothecary at the end of the alley will report that I've run you ragged."

Harry laughed at the thought, and then laughed again at the dark look Snape sent him.

"Read a library book and rest."

He turned to leave, but Harry said, "I don't have a library book sir."

The man turned back and said with a heavy sigh, "Why pray tell did you decide not to bring one this time?"

"I didn't get to go to the library this week. Is there one here I can go to?"

"Not on the alley."

Harry wanted to ask to go to the bookstore, but decided against it. If it was something he wanted to do, he thought Snape would deny his request outright. He was surprised when Snape's eyes raked over his appearance again though and the man said, "Do you have your money from the sales to the apothecary last week?"

"Yes sir."

"If you behave yourself and stay on the alley, you may go to the bookstore... or to any other establishment on Camden Alley. If I hear word of you misbehaving, acting badly around any of the other children on the alley, or being disrespectful in any way, you will not be allowed to go out on your own again."

"I won't sir."

"Comb your hair, eat breakfast, and then you may go. Return by lunch. I suggest you find a book that will keep you occupied."

"I will," Harry promised. He was tired and his arm ached, but he was excited that he was finally going to get to go somewhere else on the alley by himself other than the apothecary.

Harry quickly did as he was told, and within twenty minutes was down the stairs and on Camden Alley. There were a few children out, though they were much younger than him. They were playing with a red ball and laughing. Harry thought they might live in the flats across the alley from Snape.

Down past the little side alley that held coffee shops and restaurants, Harry stopped for a moment and peered down it. He wanted to buy something sweet to eat, but only had thirty seven sickles, and decided he'd rather have books. He didn't know when he'd be able to get back to the library again, especially if his uncle intended to make him do long lists of chores every time he returned, and there were still five weeks left of summer to get through.

Harry pushed open the door to the bookstore at the end of the alley a minute later, and let his eyes adjust to the dim light inside for a few moments before he went in. The store was about as big as Flourish And Blotts, but had a cool vibe inside with warm yellow lightbulbs hanging on wires strung across the ceiling, brick walls and soft chairs to sit in while reading books to see if you wanted to buy them.

Harry had never taken too much time to browse Flourish And Blotts, always having been in a hurry to get his school books and nothing else. Hermione always came out with an extra armful of books whenever she went to Flourishes, and was always enthusing about what she got there.

He went to the Defense section and looked over the six shelves of books. There were quite a few he thought he'd like to buy, but he still had his textbook from school to get through first. He avoided the potions section altogether, and went to a back wall that had novels. He wasn't sure what he wanted to read. Usually the librarian in Little Whinging gave him suggestions, or he talked to muggle teens and asked what they had read recently that they liked. The novels here weren't broken up into kid, teen, and adult sections. Instead they were in sections that said things like, ‘Young Witch Romance,' and ‘Muggles Fighting Magical Creatures'. Harry pondered over the strange organization of the novels as he came to a section titled, ‘Unlucky Apprentices', and began to browse there. Harry still didn't know much about apprentices other than what he'd learned so far of potions apprenticeships. Here there were dozens of novels about auror apprentices and Harry pulled one off the shelf and read the back of it. ‘Toby Agnotious is fresh out of Hogwarts when he gets accepted into the Aurory as an apprentice. The only problem is his older sister is four years ahead of him in the apprenticeship program, and will be in charge of him as a senior apprentice. She's been embarrassing and pranking him since they were kids, and he needs to make a good impression here... especially now that rogue vampires are on the loose, and everything is at stake.'

Harry put that book back on the shelf and used his good hand to pull another off. After twenty minutes he'd read the summaries of four or five and finally found one he thought he'd like to buy about an apprentice who had been sucked back in time a hundred years, when the owner of the store came up behind him.

"Can I help you with something?"

Harry turned and found a man maybe in his twenties. He seemed irritated with Harry and Harry wondered if he'd been taking too long to pick a book.

"Just looking," Harry said, novel still in hand. It was fifteen sickles, and he thought he could probably find another at a lower price so he could take two back to Snape's flat.

The man looked down at Harry's hand in the large front pocket of his hoodie. "Warm day for a sweater, isn't it?"

Harry shrugged, turning his eyes back to the bookshelf. Snape had asked him the same thing the other day, and Harry had told him it was his favorite shirt.

The store owner didn't seem to want to leave Harry to browse though. "What's in the pocket?"

Harry turned back to him. "Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing. You've had your hand in there since just after you came in. Pull the book out and let me see what you're trying to steal."

"I- I'm not," Harry said, startled. "I don't have a book in there." He tucked the book in his good hand under his injured arm and put his good hand in his other pocket, pulling out his money. "I came to buy books, not steal them." He put the sickles back in his pocket and took the book out from under his armpit.

"Then why won't you take your hand out of your pocket and let me see for myself that there's nothing in there?" Without warning he grabbed Harry's injured arm and pulled it free of the front pocket. Harry winced as he dropped the book he was holding on the floor, taking a sharp breath in, and pulled his broken arm back, using his good arm to cradle it to himself. All thought of the irritated store owner had left him as Harry concentrated on breathing through the pain.

After several moments the man said quietly, "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," Harry said with a wince, eyes watering. "Fell on it." He knew he wouldn't convince him, but he didn't care. He'd leave and never come back. The man didn't know him from anyone, so Harry didn't care what he thought he knew.

Before Harry even realized the man had pulled his wand out though, he'd already cast a spell and he said, "It's broken. Seems like something to me."

"Musta fallen on it harder than I thought," Harry said. He turned and headed for the door, arm still cradled to himself. Once he was a good ways down the alley and in the shadows of one of the tall buildings, Harry carefully tucked his throbbing arm back into the pocket of the hoodie, wiped his eyes with his other arm and went back to Snape's flat.

* * *

Harry passed the next two days sleeping and reading his Defense textbook. Snape must have thought he still looked tired or sick and left him alone. He didn't ask Harry to brew any more potions, and at the end of the fifth day took Harry back to Privet Drive. Harry was grateful to retreat back to his room where he could pull the warm hoodie off and let his arms breath. Maybe Snape had just run out of things for him to brew and fungus for him to collect, and would leave him be for the rest of the summer. While he never looked forward to time with his relatives, time on Privet Drive meant time he didn't have to hide his broken arm, because his aunt and uncle already knew it was broken.

* * *

Potter hadn't been awful to spend several days a week with, though Severus attributed that to the boy spending all of his free time by himself in his room reading. He did as he was told in regards to brewing potions and collecting and selling ingredients, but Severus still looked forward to the days he had to himself when the boy was back with his relatives. He didn't have to feel on edge when Potter was away. He felt free to relax, to go out for coffee, to leave the flat and travel if he wanted. He couldn't do any of those things with Potter around. It was the primary reason he kept taking the boy back to his relatives.

He was certain the boy's relatives appreciated having time with him during the summer in any case. By leaving Potter with them for five or six days at a time it gave them time to travel or go on holiday if they wanted. The boy's pudgy cousin certainly seemed to appreciate having him around, and Severus hoped that the boy got all of his rambunctious energy out while at home with his relatives so he could focus on studying and doing what needed to be done when Severus picked him up.

Two mornings after he'd returned Potter to Little Whinging, Severus relaxed at a little table in front of his favorite coffee shop in Camden Alley East. It was nice to be out in the cool morning air with the sun shining bright overhead. While Camden Alley was usually fairly quiet aside from a few children playing in the alley or a few residents coming and going at any given time of day, Camden Alley East was usually full of people in the morning and afternoon. Since this is where the restaurants and coffee shops were, it was common to see a couple dozen residents out chatting with each other at sidewalk tables, or exploring the few little shops between the coffee shops. There was a plant store Severus liked to get house plants from, especially since they carried rare plants he grew on his balcony to use for potions ingredients, a tiny pet shop that sold a few cats and owls, but mostly had food and other items needed to care for a variety of magical pets, and a travel agency Severus sometimes used on holidays when he wanted to travel abroad.

After leisurely making his way through two cups of coffee, Severus went to the bookstore on the end of Camden Alley and went inside. It was run by a young man not too many years out of Hogwarts. Most of the books in this store were geared toward young people, but knowing that Severus and the Potions Master that ran the apothecary here both lived above the alley, he also carried a sizeable section of Potion journals and books.

Severus browsed for a few minutes while a fourth year Hufflepuff girl that lived at the far end of the alley checked out, and then took a new potions journal he hadn't read yet up to the counter to pay.

As the shop owner rang up the purchase he said awkwardly, "That boy of yours... your apprentice."

Severus stiffened. What had the boy done now? He looked up, coins in hand. "Yes?"

"He get that broken arm taken care of at St. Mungos?"

Severus frowned. Clearly he had confused Potter with some other boy. "Excuse me?"

"That boy with the messy black hair... he's Harry Potter isn't he? He's your new apprentice?"

"Yes," Severus said cautiously. The apothecary must have told people he'd taken on a new apprentice, or perhaps the stationer had said something since he'd taken Harry in to get supplies a few weeks back. "What has he done?"

"Done?" the man asked, taking Severus' money. "Said he fell. Rushed out of the store without his book when I asked him about his arm. I did a diagnostic spell and saw it was broken."

"You must be mistaken," Severus said, taking the potions journal along with the receipt he had been handed. "My apprentice does not have a broken arm."

"If your apprentice is Harry Potter, he does." The man pulled a novel out from under the counter and set it on top in front of Severus. "Dropped this on his way out. Didn't get a chance to pay for it either. Send him back in for it after you take him to St. Mungos." Severus didn't like the look he was being given. It was a hard look, like the man was insisting he see to his injured apprentice.

"I will tell him," Severus said, sweeping out of the store a moment later. He was going to find Potter and drag him back to the bookstore by his ear to show the shop owner the boy was unharmed. If the brat had been out telling people Severus had hurt him... the boy was only going to wish he had a broken arm after Severus was done making him scrub out cauldrons and chop rat spleens. He would do the longest detention on record for spreading harmful lies like that.

After sending the potions journal to his flat with a spell, Severus turned on his heel and disapparated from the alley, reappearing a moment later in the backyard of Four Privet Drive. He couldn't apparate in the middle of the day in front of the house, and instead went out front via the side gate and knocked on the front door.

Harry opened the door and looked surprised to see him. Severus didn't wait to be invited in and stepped forward in a hurry, causing Harry to stumble backwards to get out of his way. After shutting the door with a snap, Snape said in a low and dangerous tone, "What did you tell the owner of the bookstore on Camden Alley?"

"What?" Harry practically squeaked, eyes fearful.

"You have one chance to tell me the truth. Lie to me and you will be cutting up rat spleens and crushing beetles until school starts."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't tell him anything."

"Did you, or did you not tell him that you had a broken arm," Snape demanded.

"No, I didn't, I swear. He grabbed my arm and I winced, and I dropped the book I was gonna buy, and he said I had a broken arm. I said I fell and I left." All of the words rushed out of his mouth in a hurry. He was glad his cousin and uncle were out of the house, but his aunt was still there, and he wondered if she was hiding in the kitchen and listening to their conversation.

"That makes no sense," Snape spat.

"I'm telling the truth, I swear. He said I had a broken arm, and, and I didn't believe him. I fell on it the other day, that's all."

For the first time since he'd become Snape's apprentice, Snape didn't call him out on his lie. The man always seemed to know when he was lying, but this time he must have been so angry that he hadn't noticed.

"So your arm is injured?"

"A little," Harry lied. Snape wasn't buying this lie though. He pulled out his wand and did a diagnostic spell, the same one Madam Pomfrey always used when Harry ended up in the Hospital Wing.

"It is broken," Severus said. The anger had left him and his voice was flat... deflated. He looked around, maybe wondering for the first time since he'd barged in if Harry's aunt and uncle were home.

"Where is your family?"

Harry pointed with his good arm towards the kitchen and Severus walked through into the dining room, where Aunt Petunia was standing still and looking shocked to see him there.

"Why is the boy's arm broken? Why have you not taken him to the hospital to have it put into a cast or contacted me to heal it?"

"Broken?" Petunia asked, voice shaking. "I didn't even realize he was hurt."

Snape took her at her word and Harry wondered how come he could always tell when Harry was lying, but couldn't detect his aunt's lie. Maybe he couldn't tell when Harry was lying at all, and always just assumed he was. Snape turned sharply to stare at Harry, who had followed him into the dining room.

"I fell," he lied.

"And why did you not inform your relatives you were hurt, or me for that matter? When did this happen? Clearly before I last picked you up."

"It didn't hurt that bad. I didn't think it was broken. I thought it would just go away."

Snape shot him a look that said he didn't believe him, and Harry really hoped he wouldn't make good on his threat to make him chop rat spleens for the rest of the summer.

The dark eyed potions master turned back to Petunia, more calm in his voice now, and said, "As I am responsible for him, I will take him to St. Mungos to be treated. I will return for his things when we are done, and he will stay with me for several days."

"To chop rat spleens?" Harry asked, feeling sick to his stomach. He'd been made to do it in detention a few times over the years, and he always felt like throwing up when he was done because rat spleens were slimy and smelled bad.

Snape shot him a stern look and took hold of Harry's uninjured arm, taking him away with a pop before Harry or Petunia could say anything else.

They spent an hour at St. Mungos, most of that hour just waiting to be seen. They didn't even need a doctor to see him, as nurses were capable of healing simple fractures like the one in Harry's arm. She was appalled to see how much swelling and bruising there was, and dressed Snape down in the little healing room they were in for not bringing Harry in sooner. Harry knew he'd be paying later on for making Snape explain to her that he hadn't known about Harry's injury and that Harry hadn't even told his family about it. She didn't seem to have the heart to tell Harry off for not coming to be seen sooner though, and instead gave him a pain killer potion and slathered his arm in bruise balm and a second balm meant to reduce swelling. Those things couldn't be healed right away with a simple spell.

Snape took Harry back to Camden Alley and Harry was surprised to find that they were in front of the bookstore and not in Snape's flat.

"You will go into the bookstore and show the owner that your broken bone has been healed, and explain to him why you did not tell myself or your relatives of the injury."

Harry didn't want to do it but didn't dare argue with him. The more he argued, the more rat spleens he'd be chopping later.

He pushed the door open to the bookstore and went inside. The owner was behind the counter and looked up when he and Snape came in.

"Uh..." Harry didn't know what exactly to say. He lifted his arm, now healed, though it still hurt from the bruising and swelling. "It's healed," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't believe you when you said it was broken."

The man looked from Harry to Snape, and then back again. He pulled the novel Harry had been looking at the other day out from under the counter and set it next to the register. "You forgot your book."

Harry bit his lip. "I don't have my money on me right now." Some sort of silent conversation seemed to have flashed quickly between Snape and the shop owner however, and before Harry could understand what was happening, Snape had paid for the book, picked it up, thanked the man, and led Harry back onto the alley.

"I'll pay you back," Harry said.

"Yes you will."

"In rat spleens?"

"Be silent," he snapped, though only loud enough for Harry to hear.

Back in the flat he handed the book to Harry and instructed him to stay in his room. He disapparated without another word, and Harry wondered if he'd gone back to Privet Drive, or gone to find some rats for detention. Harry only had a few minutes to ponder it before he was back with Harry's trunk, which he left at the foot of Harry's bed.

Harry stayed in his room for an hour, wondering when Snape would call him out, but he didn't until lunch time, and then he left him to himself again until dinner.

The next day, when Snape failed to mention anything to Harry about rats, their spleens, or any other punishments after breakfast, Harry allowed himself to relax enough to lay in bed and start reading the novel from the bookstore. While it was an adventure book about a young auror apprentice, Harry thought that so far his time as a potions apprentice had had far more excitement and drama. His life would have made for a far more interesting read than a young man who had traveled back in time.

To be continued...


This story archived at http://www.potionsandsnitches.org/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=3813